Help rebuild the Sint Maarten Yacht Club & Sailing School

Help rebuild the Sint Maarten Yacht Club & Sailing School!

“Give the sailing community their home back”

The Sint Maarten Yacht Club was established in 1980 with the aim to bring the sailing community on the island together and communally promote the sport of sailing. The St. Maarten Heineken Regatta was started in the same year as one of the major efforts to accomplish this goal, as well as increasing tourism on St. Maarten. Over the years the event grew from 12 participating boats to close to 300, making the economic impact for St. Maarten stand out significantly and driving tourism in March when the high season started to come to an end.

With the success of the regatta, the Yacht Club continued to grow and focused on annual local and regional sailing events, as well as a successful youth sailing program that included a sponsor program for local youth that wouldn’t be able to afford lessons otherwise. In addition, the Club’s social committee grew and brought the community together, planning fundraisers and activities with other organizations such as the yellow and white cross, emphasizing on giving back to the community.

On September 6th St. Maarten lay right in the middle of Hurricane Irma’s monster path and devastation happened. The entire island was smashed, including the Sint Maarten Yacht Club. The docks, deck and fleet got severely damaged or wiped out. As a result, the young students enrolled in sailing lessons as part of our Youth Sailing Program no longer have the opportunity to sail until we rebuild our docks and replace the fleet. We have organized a temporary solution for the students still on island off Kim Sha Beach, however this significantly reduces the capacity of kids we can take sailing with a limited number of boats. With all the devastation surrounding the children of St. Maarten, we are determined to rebuild and to provide the youth with a positive activity and distraction from the aftermath of Hurricane Irma.

Rebuilding the Sint Maarten Yacht Club will also allow us to continue our efforts to promote sailing, increase tourism through sailing events, and to bring the local community together.

In order to rebuild, we are seeking donations to support our efforts. Attached is an overview of all that has to be replaced or rebuilt in order to fully function and positively contribute to the economy of St. Maarten. The Sint Maarten Yacht Club has become the home of many sailors, island families, and the local community. We hope you will be able to contribute and support our efforts in keeping this home alive. Thank you in advance for your time and consideration.